SMATV headend using IP transport stream input and method for operating the same

ABSTRACT

A receiving unit  28  includes a tuner that receives a first signal that may include a satellite signal. A demodulator demodulates the satellite signal to form a second signal. The second signal may be internet protocol (IP) encapsulated to form an IP encapsulated signal. The IP encapsulated signal may be communicated through an IP network to a decoder. The decoder  144  decodes the second signal or the IP encapsulated signal. A modulator  146  modulates the decoded signal which is communicated to user devices through a network  147 . In addition, IP encapsulated signals may also be communicated to various user devices through the network.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to satellite television systemsand, more particularly, to a satellite television system having actingas a local head end to distribute various channels throughout abuilding.

BACKGROUND

Satellite television has become increasingly popular due to its widevariety of programming. Typical satellite receivers are designed as oneintegrated unit. That is, the various tuning functions, conditionalaccess functions and processing are all performed on the same circuitboard.

For certain types of applications, an IP encapsulated bitstream isdesirable. The IP bitstream is distributed to various monitors forplayback. The IP solutions are typically targeted at large installationsto support hundreds of simultaneous users. Such systems are typicallynot economical for low-end installation requiring only a modest numberof receivers. Such applications include low-end commercial applicationssuch as bars, waiting rooms and single-family homes. A set top boxcapable of converting the IP stream to usable signals typically requiresa box. In certain applications not requiring a set top box would reducethe cost of the system. Providing some basic service to applicationssuch as multiple dwelling units is also desirable.

Hotels and other applications may also use a satellite master antennatelevision (SMATV) system. Hotels do not typically employ specializedpersonnel to fix problems. Thus, service calls to such locations may bemade often.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect of the disclosure, a system includes a tuner module tuninga satellite signal, a demodulator demodulating the satellite signal toform a transport stream signal, a decoder module decoding the transportstream signal to form an analog signal and a modulator modulating theanalog signal and communicating the modulated signal to a televisiontuner.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, a system includes a tuner moduletuning a satellite signal, a demodulator demodulating the satellitesignal to form a transport stream signal, an IP encapsulation modulereceiving the transport stream and formatting the transport streamsignal to form an IP encapsulated signal and communicating the IPencapsulated signal through the network. The encapsulated signal isdecoded/decrypted by a device to form an analog signal. The analogsignal is modulated and communicated to a tuner within a viewing device.

In yet another aspect of the disclosure, a method includes receiving afirst signal to form a received signal, demodulating the received signalto form a transport stream signal, decoding the transport stream signalto form an analog signal and modulating the analog signal to from amodulated signal and communicating the modulated signal to a televisiontuner through a network.

The system in one configuration allows a basic service using modulatedanalog signals to be provided to customers. Enhanced service is alsopossible when incorporating IP streams into the system.

The system may be formed using various circuit boards so that the systemmay be expanded or upgraded without having to upgrade other circuitboards. When multiple circuit boards are used, the higher volumeapplication allows the circuit boards to be manufactured at a reducedcost. This also helps reduce the overall cost of maintenance of thesystem.

The system may also be used for monitoring various aspects of the systemand controlling various aspects of the system remotely. This will reducethe number of service calls for the system.

Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent whenviewed in light of the detailed description of the preferred embodimentwhen taken in conjunction with the attached drawings and appendedclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system level view of a satellite broadcasting systemaccording to the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagrammatic view of a receiving unit.

FIG. 3 is a block diagrammatic view of a device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagrammatic view of a receiving unit for a multipledevice application.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a method of receiving a signal according to oneaspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following figures the same reference numerals will be used forthe same views. The following figures are described with respect to asatellite television system. However, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the teachings of the present disclosure may be applied tovarious types of systems including a cable system.

As used herein, the term module refers to an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared,dedicated, or group) and memory that executes one or more software orfirmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitablecomponents that provide the described functionality. As used herein, thephrase or at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean alogical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. It should beunderstood that steps within a method may be executed in different orderwithout altering the principles of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a satellite television broadcasting system 10is illustrated. The satellite television broadcasting system 10 includesa network operations center 12 that generates wireless uplink signalsthrough a transmitting antenna 14 which are received by a receivingantenna 16 of a satellite 18. The wireless signals, for example, may bedigital. A transmitting antenna 20 generates wireless downlink signalsdirected to various receiving systems including stationary systems suchas those in a home 22 as well as multiple dwelling units and commercialbuildings 24. Commercial buildings may include hotels. The wirelesssignals may have various types of information associated with themincluding various channel information such as a channel guide, metadata,location information and the like. The wireless signals may also havevarious video and audio signal information associated therewith.

The home 22 includes a receiving antenna 26 that receives the wirelesssignals from the satellite 18 and processes the signals in a receivingunit 28. An IP encapsulated bitstream is generated at the receiving unit28. In addition to or instead of the IP encapsulated signal, thereceiving unit 28 may also generate an analog output signal or severalsignals corresponding to various channels. A device 30 receives the IPencapsulated bitstream and controls a display 32 in response to thebitstream. The display 32 may include both an audio and a video display.The receiving unit 28 will be described in further detail below.

As was mentioned above, the system may also apply to a cable or wiredsystem. In such a case, the antenna 26 would be replaced with a cableconnection. The system may also be used in a terrestrial broadcastsystem. In such a case, the satellite antenna 18 would be replaced by aterrestrial signal receiving antenna.

Building 24 includes a receiving antenna 40 that receives the wirelesssignals from the satellite 18 and processes the signals in a receivingunit 42. An IP encapsulated bitstream is generated at the receiving unit42. In addition to or instead of the IP encapsulated signal, thereceiving unit 42 may also generate an analog output signal or severalsignals corresponding to various channels. A plurality of devices44A-44N in communication with the receiving unit 42 receives the IPencapsulated bitstream or the analog signals or both and controls adisplay 46A-46N in response to the bitstream. The displays 46A-46N mayinclude either an audio or a video display, or both. The devices 44A-Nmay include a decoder for decoding the IP signal (MPEG signal) for useby the display device. The devices 44A-N may also include video andaudio output drivers to control displays 46A-46N.

The present disclosure may also be used for displaying various wirelessinformation on a personal mobile device 56, such as a laptop computer60, a personal digital assistant 62, a cellular telephone 64 or aportable media device 66. It should be noted that the personal mobiledevices 56 may receive wireless signals having various types ofinformation from a router 70 that is in communication with the receivingdevice 42. The router 70 may be wireless.

The router 70 may also be a wired router for distributing signals to theplurality of devices 44A-44N. The router 70 may be an independent unitor incorporated into the receiving unit 42. A router 70 may also be anoptional feature depending on the system.

Because an IP network may be provided, a web portal 76 may be incommunication with the receiving unit 42, and more specifically to therouter 70. A web portal 76 may also be in communication with one of thedevices 44A, 44N and the receiving unit 28. A monitoring and controlmodule 78 may be used to monitor and control one or more of thereceiving unit 28, the receiving unit 42, the router 70 and the device4A, 44N. The monitoring and control module 78 may receive monitoringsignals as to the health and status of the various devices mentionedabove. Control signals may be generated from the monitoring and controlmodule 78 to control the various devices. Various controls may includeresetting the devices or reconfiguring the devices based upon variouscontrol or monitored signals. For example, should a box reset berequired, a control signal may be generated by the monitoring andcontrol module 78 and communicated to one of the devices mentionedabove.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a receiving unit 28 is illustrated in furtherdetail. Antenna 26 may be various types of antennas. The antenna 26 maybe a single antenna used for satellite television reception, or a numberof antennas. The antenna 26 may also be an electronic antenna.

The circuitry may be formed as a plurality of discrete components formedon one or many circuit boards. In the present example, the receivingunit 28 may include a tuner demodulator module 100 formed on a firstcircuit board and an IP encapsulation and control module 102 formed on asecond circuit board. The circuit boards may contain the components oftheir respective module. The circuit boards may be spaced apart and aconnector, bus or communication link may be used to interconnect themodules.

The tuner demodulator module 100 includes a tuner 110 that receives thesignal or the satellite signal 111 for the selected channel andgenerates a tuner signal 112. The tuner signal 112 is provided to ademodulator module 114 that demodulates the tuner signal 112 to form ademodulated signal or transport stream 116. The transport stream may bein various formats may include but are not limited to MPEG such as MPEG2and DIRECTV® legacy format.

A low noise block (LNB) control module 118 is in communication with thetuner module 110 and the demodulator module 114. The LNB control module118 may control the tuner and demodulator functions according toreceived control signals 120. For example, the LNB control module 118may switch the LNB contained in the antenna 26 to receive the propersignal requested by the IP encapsulation and control module 102.Further, guide data or conditional access data and other information maybe requested from the IP encapsulation and control module and providedfor in the low noise block control module 118. The LNB control module118 may be used for powering the outdoor unit (the antenna 26) andselecting the particular orbital location if needed.

The IP encapsulation and control module 102 includes an input processingmodule 130. The input processing module 130 may act as a buffer forbuffering the transport stream signal 116. The input processing module130 also acts as a filter passing only those packets needed bydownstream devices 30 or 44 and discarding the packets that are notneeded by downstream devices.

An IP encapsulation module 132 receives the transport stream andrepackages it using an internet protocol (IP) to form an IP encapsulatedsignal 136. Additional network control messages may also be inserted bythe IP encapsulation module 132. The IP encapsulation module 132 mayprovide various information in the form of a packet header. The packetheader may include information such as the destination IP address, thesource IP address, the type of protocol, various flags, check sums,metadata such as channel information, ratings, and the like. Varioustypes of transport packets may be real time protocol (RTP) formeddepending on the desired characteristics of the system. TCP, UDP, DCCP,SCTP, RTP, RTSP streaming of control protocol and the like may be used.An encryption module 134 may encrypt the encapsulated signal 136.

The IP encapsulated signal 136 is communicated to output processingmodule 138. The encryption module 134 is an optional module that may beseparate from the IP encapsulation module 132 or included therein. Theoutput processing module 138 may also act as a buffer for bufferingoutput to the device 30. The output of 138 is IP stream 139.

A network control module 140 is used to monitor the IP network andaccept commands from downstream equipment requesting channel changes,guide data, conditional access data and the like. The network controlmodule 140 manages the aspects of the IP data sent to and from thesystem into the IP network.

A microprocessor 142 is in communication with the input processingmodule 130, the IP encapsulation module 132, the output processingmodule 138, and the network control module 140. The microprocessor 142also generates control signals to the LNB control module 118 of thetuner demodulator module 100. The microprocessor 142 may also be indirect communication with the tuner module 110 and the demodulatormodule 114. The control protocol may include I²C industry standard orvarious other types of industry standards or custom standards suitablefor this application.

The IP stream 139 may also be communicated to an MPEG decoder module144. The MPEG decoder module 144 may actually consist of a plurality ofdecoder modules used for receiving the IP stream and converting it to anaudio and video signal. For example, separate MPEG decoder modules 144may be used to generate various signals corresponding to variouschannels. That is, one audio and video signal may be provided for eachof the channels. In this example, only channel may be provided. Theoutput of the MPEG decoder module 144 is an analog signal that may bemodulated at a modulator 146. The modulator 146 communicates themodulated signal through a cable connected to a television with a tuner148. Preferably, the signals are modulated in a frequency that istunable by a cable-ready tuner within the television 148. Thisembodiment is merely representative of a single channel. However,several channels may also be provided as is set forth in FIG. 4.

One thing to note is that both an IP stream and a modulated analogstream may be provided. The two streams may be provided over the samedistribution 147 network. A modulated stream may be for a low-endservice, while the IP stream may be for a higher premium-type service.This example will be further described in FIG. 4 below.

It should also be noted that the transport stream, if already an MPEG orother suitable format, may be provided directly to the MPEG decodermodule 144 from the demodulator module 114.

The network 147 may be used to communicate the IP encapsulated signals,i.e., the IP stream, the modulated signals or both. As mentioned above,some basic channels may be provided to users in the system using themodulated signals, while enhanced service may be provided with the IPservice. The network 147 may be a wired network or a wireless network.The wired network may be an existing coaxial cable system using coaxialwires or other infrastructure optical units such as CAT5E, multimode orsingle mode fibers.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a device 30 is illustrated in further detail.Device 30 may include a decryption module 160 if encryption is performedin the receiving unit 28. Decryption module 160 may not be included in adevice 30 should the receiving device not include encryption.

A decapsulation module 162 may be used to decapsulate the various IPpackets in the IP encapsulated signal 139 from the receiving unit. Theoutput of decapsulation module 162 is a transport stream containingaudio/video data, guide information, conditional access information,etc. A decoder module 166, such as an MPEG decoder, receives thetransport signal from the decapsulation module 162 and decodes thesignal. The decoded signal is provided to an output driver module 168.The output driver module 168 generates various audio and video signals169 for the display 32 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. A conditionalaccess module 170 may be included in the receiving device 30.Conditional access module 170 may take the form of a conditional accesscard or other security device. Without a conditional access module 170,the system may not function. Under certain conditions, the conditionalaccess module 170 may be completely removed from the system or moved tothe tuner demodulator module 100 or the IP encapsulation and controlmodule 102.

A channel selector module 172 may also be included within the device 30.The channel selector module 172 may generate a channel control signal tocommunicate the channel desired at the particular device. The channelcontrol signal may be provided to the receiving unit. More specifically,the channel control signal may be provided to the microprocessor 142module. The input to the channel selector may come from a remote controlor push button.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the present disclosure may also be applicableto a system that includes a number of devices and a number of displays.Such a system may be suitable for multiple dwelling units, commercialbuildings such as a bar or large single-family homes. In this example,one or more antennas may be coupled to a plurality of tuner demodulatormodules 110′. Each of the tuner demodulator modules 110′ may beconfigured identically to that described above in FIG. 2. Therefore, aseparate description of the tuner demodulator modules 110′ is notprovided. Each of the tuner demodulator modules 110′ generates aseparate transport stream. The transport stream may correspond to one ormore particular channel. The number of tuner demodulator modules 110′depends upon various parameters. For example, if each device 44A-44N maybe tuned to a different channel, then a separate tuner demodulatormodule 110′ may be provided for each respective device 44 up to andincluding the total number of unique transponders (satellite system) orRF frequencies (cable, terrestrial) used by the system. If less thaneach of the devices may be used at any one particular time, the numberof tuner demodulator modules 110′ may be accordingly reduced. Likewise,in a sports bar setting, only a few different channels may be required.Therefore, a small number of tuner demodulator modules 110′ may beprovided.

The receiving unit 42 may also include an IP encapsulation and controlmodule 102′. The IP encapsulation and control module 102′ may bemodified from that shown above with respect to FIG. 2 to includemultiple channel device capability. Each tuner demodulator 110′ mayinclude an input processing module 130A through 130N. As mentionedabove, the input processing module 130A through 130N may act as a bufferto the IP encapsulation module 132′. Filtering may also be performed asmentioned above. A single IP encapsulation module 132′ may be provided.The output of each input processing module 130A through 130N iscommunicated to the IP encapsulation module 132′. The IP encapsulationmodule 132′ may also include encryption module 134′ to encrypt the IPencapsulated bitstream in a similar manner to that described above withrespect to FIG. 2. An output processing module 138′, similar to thatdescribed above with respect to FIG. 2, may receive the IP encapsulationbitstream from the IP encapsulation module 132′ and buffers the IPstream output 139. The network 147′ may be used for communicating the IPstream. The network 147′ may be configured similarly to the network 147described above.

One advantage to the system set forth in FIG. 4 is that identical tunerdemodulator modules 110 may be provided in either of the systems of FIG.2 or 4. These modules may, thus, be mass produced and because of theeconomies of scale, the cost is reduced. Also, standard configurationsof the IP encapsulation and control module 102′ may also be formed. Theexample shown in FIG. 2 includes one set of circuitry used to drive onedevice 30. Of course, multiple devices using the same channel may beoperated using the IP encapsulation and control module 102. The IPencapsulation and control module 102′ illustrated in FIG. 4 may be massproduced in standardized format, such as one for 1 device, one for 4devices, one for 8 devices, and one for 16 devices. Each of thevariances may be mass produced and, thus, the overall cost of the systemis reduced, decreasing the number of customer configurations. Thecircuitry of the IP encapsulation and control module 102 is essentiallyrepeated with additional input processing buffers 130A through 130N.

A router 70 may or may not be included in the system. The router 70 maybe a hard-wired router or a wireless router. The wireless router forms awireless local area network (WLAN). The wireless local area network maybe coupled to various devices including the wireless devices 56represented by reference numbers 60-66 in FIG. 1.

The transport stream 116′ from the tuner/demodulation module may also beprovided. This may be passed through the IP encapsulation and controlmodule or provided directly from the tuner/demodulator module 110′.

In this example, an MPEG decoder module 144′ may receive the IP stream139′ through the network 147′ or the transport stream 116′. The MPEGdecoder module decodes the MPEG signal and provides an audio and videosignal to the modulator 146′. Each signal received by the MPEG decodermodule 144′ may correspond to a different channel that is received anddemodulated each tuner module 110′ and demodulator module 114′. Themodulator 146′ receives the audio and video signals from the decoder144′ and modulates each with a different frequency. The modulatedsignals may be communicated through a network 147″. Network 147″ may bean analog network. Preferably, the frequencies of the modulated signalscorrespond to standard cable television frequencies so that eachtelevision 148′ with tuner is able to demodulate the signals. This mayoccur with the internal cable television-type tuner without the user ofan external set top box.

As can be appreciated, the present system may be used for a hotel,apartment building, or other system where multiple televisions will beconnected. For a low-cost system, modulated signals may be provided toeach television with tuner. This type of system may provide a “basic”system to various subscribers within the system. Should the subscribersdesire more improved, higher quality or more channels, the IP portion ofthe system may be implemented. The IP system may be used together withthe modulated analog system or the two systems may be used separately.

Again, a monitoring and control module 78 may be used to monitor orcontrol various functions throughout the system. The monitoring andcontrol module 78 may be in communication with router 70, the MPEGdecoder module 144′, one or more of the devices 44A-44N through the IPnetwork 147′. Each of the devices has a web address that may be used tomonitoring and controlling through the monitoring and control module 78.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a satellite signal is tuned in a tuner in step200. As mentioned above, the signal may be a satellite signal or mayalso be some other terrestrial or cable television signal. In thefollowing example, the satellite signal, rather than a cable orterrestrial signal, will be used. In step 202, the satellite signal isreceived. In step 204, the satellite signal is demodulated. A transportstream is generated in step 206. In step 208, the transport stream iscommunicated to the IP encapsulation module 132, 132′ of FIGS. 2 and 4.The IP encapsulation module 132, 132′ may be separated from the tunerdemodulator module. In step 210, the transport stream is IP encapsulatedto form an encapsulated bitstream.

If encryption is used in the system, step 212 encrypts the encapsulatedbitstream. In step 214, the encapsulated bitstream is routed to adevice. In step 216, if encrypting is used, the bitstream is decrypted.In step 216, the bitstream is also decapsulized.

In step 218, the bitstream is decoded. In step 220, the signal isdisplayed. The display may be an audio display or visual display.

It should be noted that some of the modules used in the above, such asthe routers, IP encapsulating modules and the like, may also includesome IP processing. The present examples provide additional processingto such devices.

Referring back to steps 206 and 210, the MPEG decoding for a modulatedsystem may take place after steps 206 or 210. This was described abovein reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. In step 230, the transport stream isMPEG-decoded. As mentioned above, the encapsulated transport stream mayalso be MPEG-decoded from step 210. Once decoded in step 230, an analogvideo and audio signal is formed. A signal for each channel may beformed. In step 232, the decoded analog signal is modulated. Themodulated signals are communicated to the various devices through anetwork. The frequencies of each of the modulated signals may bedifferent. As is mentioned above, the network may include a wirelessnetwork or a wired network such as a coaxial communication wirednetwork. The network may pre-exist in a building.

While particular embodiments of the disclosure have been shown anddescribed, numerous variations and alternate embodiments will occur tothose skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is intended that thedisclosure be limited only in terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a receiving unit comprising:a tuner module tuning a satellite signal; a demodulator demodulating thesatellite signal to form a transport stream signal; an IP encapsulationmodule generating an IP encapsulated signal from the transport streamsignal and communicating the IP encapsulated signal through a router anda network to a device controlling a display; a decoder module decodingthe IP encapsulated signal to form an analog signal; a modulatormodulating the analog signal to form a modulated signal andcommunicating the modulated signal to a television tuner through thenetwork; and a web portal and a monitoring and control module coupled tothe web portal, said monitoring and control module monitoring health andstatus of the receiving unit, the device and the router, said web portalconfigured to reset or reconfigure the receiving unit, the router andthe device through the web portal and the router.
 2. The receiving unitas recited in claim 1 further comprising an input processing modulebuffering the transport stream signal.
 3. The receiving unit as recitedin claim 1 further comprising an encryption module generating anencrypted IP encapsulated signal.
 4. The receiving unit as recited inclaim 1 further comprising an output processing module buffering the IPencapsulated signal.
 5. A system comprising the receiving unit asrecited in claim 1 and further comprising an IP network communicatingthe IP encapsulated signal from the IP encapsulation module to thedecoder module.
 6. A system comprising the receiving unit as recited inclaim 1 and further comprising an analog network communicating themodulated signal to the television tuner.
 7. The receiving unit asrecited in claim 1 further comprising remotely monitoring andcontrolling a decoder module within a device located remotely from theIP encapsulation module through the web portal.
 8. The receiving unit asrecited in claim 1 wherein the tuner module comprises a plurality oftuner modules and the demodulator comprises a plurality of demodulatorscorresponding to a respective one of a plurality of channels.
 9. Thereceiving unit as recited in claim 8 wherein the IP encapsulation moduleforming a plurality of IP encapsulated signals and the decoder moduledecodes the plurality of IP encapsulated signals into a plurality ofanalog signals.
 10. The receiving unit as recited in claim 9 wherein themodulator modulates the plurality of analog signals.
 11. The receivingunit as recited in claim 10 wherein the modulator communicates theplurality of analog signals to a plurality of television tuners.
 12. Asystem comprising: a tuner demodulator module having a tuner module fortuning a satellite signal, a demodulator module demodulating thesatellite signal to form a transport stream signal, and a low noiseblock control module for controlling a low noise block; an IPencapsulation and control module receiving the transport stream andformatting the transport stream signal to form an IP encapsulated signaland communicating the IP encapsulated signal through a router and anetwork, said IP encapsulation and control module forming a controlsignal for controlling the tuner and low noise block control module; adecoder in communication with the network receiving the IP encapsulatedsignal, said decoder decoding the IP encapsulated signal to form adecoded analog signal; a first user device receiving the decoded analogsignal; a second user device receiving the IP encapsulated signal; a webportal and a monitoring and control module coupled to the web portal,said monitoring and control module monitoring health and status of thefirst user device, the second user device and the router, said webportal configured to reset or reconfigure the first user device, thesecond user device and the router through the web portal and the router.13. The system as recited in claim 12 wherein the tuner module comprisesa plurality of tuner modules and the demodulator comprises a pluralityof demodulators corresponding to a respective one of a plurality ofchannels.
 14. The system as recited in claim 13 wherein the IPencapsulation and control module forms a plurality of IP encapsulatedsignals and communicates the IP encapsulated signals to a plurality ofdevices.
 15. The system as recited in claim 14 wherein the plurality ofdevices comprises a plurality of set top boxes.